Lenten Communal Penance Service

2015

Lenten Communal Penance Service

Introductory Rites

Hymn

Lord, who throughout these forty days
For us did fast and pray,
Teach us to overcome our sins
And close by you to stay.

As you with Satan did contend,
And did the vict’ry win,
O give us strength in you to fight,
In you to conquer sin.

As you did hunger and did thirst,
So teach us, gracious Lord,
To die to self, and so to live
By your most holy Word.

Text: Claudia F. Hernaman, 1838-1898, alt.
Tune: ST. FLAVIAN, CM; Johns’s Day Psalter, 1562

© Public Domain

Greeting

After the song the presider greets the people:

Presider:

Grace and peace be with you

from God our Father

and from the Lord Jesus Christ

who laid down his life for our sins

All: Glory to him for ever. Amen

Then the presider or another minister speaks briefly about the importance and purpose of the celebration and the order of the service.

The faithful are briefly reminded that they are linked with each other in sin and in repentance so that each should take their calling to conversion as an occasion of grace for the whole community.

Opening Prayer

Presider:

Lord our God,

you do not wish the sinner to die

but to be converted and live.

Come to the aid of your people,

that they may turn from their sins

and live for you alone.

May we be attentive to your word,

confess our sins, receive your forgiveness,

and always be grateful for your loving kindness.

Help us to live the truth in love

and grow into the fullness of Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

All: Amen.

The Liturgy of the Word

The following reading, while contained as an option in the rite, is not found in the lectionary in its entirety. A copy should be made and inserted into the lectionary for the reader.

First Reading Isaiah 53:1-7, 10-12

He is the one who bore our sufferings

Reader: A reading from the book of Isaiah

Who would believe what we have heard?

To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot from the parched earth;

There was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him,

nor appearance that would attract us to him.

He was spurned and avoided by men,

a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity,

One of those from whom men hide their faces, spurned,

and we held him in no esteem.

Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured,

While we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins,

Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,

by his stripes we were healed.

We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way;

But the LORD laid upon him the guilt of us all.

Though he was harshly treated,

he submitted and opened not his mouth;

Like a lamb led to the slaughter or a sheep before the shearers,

he was silent and opened not his mouth.

But the LORD was pleased to crush him in infirmity.

If he gives his life as an offering for sin,

he shall see his descendants in a long life,

and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.

Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days;

Through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,

and their guilt he shall bear.

Therefore I will give him his portion among the great,

and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty,

Because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked;

And he shall take away the sins of many,

and win pardon for their offenses.

Reader: The word of the Lord.

All: Thanks be to God

The psalm should be sung.

The following suggested psalm is the proper psalm for the First Sunday of Lent, cycle “A”.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 51, 3-4, 5-6. 12-13. 14. 17.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Have mercy on me God, in your kindness.

In your compassion blot out my offence.

O wash me more and more from my guilt

and cleanse me from my sin.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

My offences truly I know them;

my sin is always before me.

Against you, you alone, have I sinned;

what is evil in your sight I have done.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

A pure heart create for me O God,

put a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from your presence,

nor deprive me of your holy spirit.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Give me again the joy of your help;

with a spirit of fervor sustain me.

O Lord, open my lips

and my mouth shall declare your praise.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

The following reading may be found in theLectionary at number 49 as the second reading for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, cycle “A”.

Second Reading 1 Peter 2:20-25

You had gone astray

but now you have come back to the shepherd and guardian of your souls

Reader: A reading from first letter of Saint Peter

Beloved:

If you are patient when you suffer for doing what is good,

this is a grace before God.

For to this you have been called,

because Christ also suffered for you,

leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.

"He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."

When he was insulted, he returned no insult;

when he suffered, he did not threaten;

instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly.

He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross,

so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness.

By his wounds you have been healed.

For you had gone astray like sheep,

but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

Reader: The word of the Lord.

All: Thanks be to God

Lenten Gospel Acclamation

If the acclamation is not sung, it is omitted.

R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless glory!

The Son of Man came to serve,

and to give his life as a ransom for many.

R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless glory!

The following suggested gospel reading may be found in the lectionary at number 349 year II, Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

Gospel Mark 10:32-45

Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem

and the Son of Man will be handed over.

Deacon: The Lord be with you.

All: And with your spirit.

Deacon: + A reading from the holy gospel according to Mark.

All: Glory to you, Lord.

The disciples were on the way, going up to Jerusalem,

and Jesus went ahead of them.

They were amazed, and those who followed were afraid.

Taking the Twelve aside again,

he began to tell them what was going to happen to him.

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem,

and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes,

and they will condemn him to death

and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him,

spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise."

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him,

"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you."

He replied, "What do you wish (me) to do for you?"

They answered him, "Grant that in your glory

we may sit one at your right and the other at your left."

Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking.

Can you drink the cup that I drink

or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"

They said to him, "We can."

Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink,

and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;

but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give

but is for those for whom it has been prepared."

When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.

Jesus summoned them and said to them,

"You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles

lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt.

But it shall not be so among you.

Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;

whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.

For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve

and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Deacon: The gospel of the Lord.

All: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Examination of Conscience

The assembly is now invited to make an examination of conscience.

This may be done in silence or by using the examination of conscience below.

One reader alone may read the questions or two readers might alternate.

Allow a brief period of silence between each one.

Reader(s):

·  Where is my life really leading me? Is the hope of eternal life my inspiration?

·  Have I tried to grow in the life of the Spirit through prayer, reading the word of God, receiving the sacraments?

·  Have I imposed my own will on others, without respecting their freedom and rights?

·  What use have I made of time, of health and strength, of the gifts God has given me? Do I use them to become more perfect each day?

·  Have I been patient in accepting the sorrows and disappointments of life?

·  Have I kept my whole body pure as a temple of the Holy Spirit?

·  Have I dishonored my body physically or through unworthy conversation or thoughts?

·  Have I indulged in activities which offend Christian or human decency?

·  Have I gone against my conscience out of fear or hypocrisy?

If read aloud, this Examination of Conscience should conclude with a period of silence so that each person may personally examine his or her conscience.

Rite of Reconciliation

General Confession of Sins

Presider:

Directing the assembly.

Please kneel.

Christ our Lord came to call sinners into his Father's kingdom.

Let us now make an act of sorrow in our hearts

and resolve to avoid sin in the future.

After a brief period of silence, all say together:

I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done
and in what I have failed to do,

[All strike their breast]

through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;
therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.

Presider:

Now, in obedience to Christ himself,

let us join in prayer to the Father,

asking him to forgive us as we forgive others.

All say or sing together:

Our Father...

The presider concludes:

Presider:

Father, our source of life,

you know our weakness.

May we reach out with joy to grasp your hand

and walk more readily in your ways.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

Invitation to Individual Confession

Presider:

Directing the assembly.

Please be seated.

Before we begin the Sacrament of Reconciliation, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our priests who have joined us tonight.

Frs. ______, ______, and ______.

I would also like to thank all of you who have come together to pray, seeking Christ’s mercy.

While we sing the next song, our confessors will process to their confessional stations. They are located in these places in the church:

Fr. ______will be ______.

Fr. ______will be ______.

Fr. ______will be ______.

I will be ______.

At the end of the song I invite you to stay and to quietly move to one of the stations.

For those of you who decide not to partake of the sacrament at this time, I invite you to come back when confessions are heard here at the parish:

on ______(day) from ______to ______(time)

Prayer and Blessing

Presider:

Gesturing for the assembly to stand.

Let us pray.

All pray in silence for a brief period.

Lord Jesus Christ,

your loving forgiveness knows no limits.

You took our human nature

to give us an example of humility

and to make us faithful in every trial.

May we never lose the gifts you have given us,

but if we fall into sin

lift us up by your gift of repentance,

for you live and reign for ever and ever.

All: Amen.

May almighty God bless you,

the Father, and the Son +

and the Holy Spirit.

All: Amen.

Confessors process to their stations during the song.

Hymn

Come, you sinners, poor and needy,
Weak and wounded, sick and sore;
Jesus, Son of God, will save you,
Full of pity, love and power.